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WHO says mpox cases in Congo's epicenter where the new variant was detected may be 'plateauing'

The World Health Organization said mpox cases in the region of Congo where a new and more infectious variant was first detected appear to be "plateauing," even as the virus continues to increase in other regions of the country, as well as in Burundi and Uganda.




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Growing pollution in Pakistan's Punjab province has sickened 1.8M people in a month, officials say

Worsening air pollution sickened an estimated 1.8 million people in Pakistan's eastern Punjab province in the past month, health officials said Tuesday, as schools across the province were ordered to close for five days to protect children's health.




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Dodgers great Fernando Valenzuela died of septic shock, medical examiner says

Fernando Valenzuela, the Los Angeles Dodgers pitching ace who helped the team win the 1981 World Series, died of septic shock last month, according to his death certificate.




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Could a doping probe strip Salt Lake City of the 2034 Olympics? The IOC president says it's unlikely

In his first visit back to Utah since awarding Salt Lake City the 2034 Winter Games, the International Olympic Committee president sought to ease worries that the city could lose its second Olympics if organizers don't fulfill an agreement to play peacemaker between anti-doping authorities.




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Sebastian Coe says his run to be IOC president might not be such a longshot after all

He's been tough on Russia, led the charge to put prize money in the pockets of athletes and pushed for a definitive but much-derided resolution in the longstanding debate over transgender athletes.




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Doping ban reduced for German hockey player who won Olympic silver medal

Yannic Seidenberg, who won the silver medal with the German men's hockey team at the 2018 Olympics, has had his doping ban cut by 18 months.




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Former NBA player Kyle Singler spurs concern from basketball world with cryptic Instagram post

Former Duke star Kyle Singler's cryptic Instagram post saying he fears for his life has drawn an outpouring of concern and support from former teammates and others.




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Federal judge blocks state law ordering Ten Commandments to be displayed in classrooms

A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked a state law that would require classrooms in Louisiana to post the Ten Commandments starting in January.




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Essential Biodiversity Variables - Have your say!

The Group on Earth Observations Biodiversity Observation Network (GEO BON) is leading the development of a set of Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs), akin to the GCOS Essential Climate Variables (ECVs).

The recently published paper (Science 339, 18 January 2013) describing the EBV concept states that: "Reducing the rate of biodiversity loss and averting dangerous biodiversity change are international goals, reasserted by the Aichi Targets for 2020 by Parties to the United Nations (UN) Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).… However, there is no global, harmonized observation system for delivering regular, timely data on biodiversity change." Read Full Paper and supplementary materials on EBVs here.

GEO BON partners are thus developing (and seeking consensus around) EBVs that could form the basis of monitoring programs worldwide. For more information on EBVs please click here.

GEO BON invites anyone who would like to get involved in EBV development, to take the EBV survey which will run till 31 August 2013. The survey will help us gauge how respondents feel about current candidate EBVs and provides respondents with the opportunity to make suggestions for new/alternative EBVs. Complete survey now!

 





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EU BON with a workshop during ASEAN-EU STI Days 2014

The ASEAN-EU Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Days will take place between 21-23 January 2014 in Bangkok, Thailand.  As a part of the conference EU BON is  going to hold a workshop called "Integration of biodiversity data recording and information management systems for environmental sustainability: a call for EU-ASEAN collaboration" (22nd January).

The agenda of the EU BON workshop includes:

  • Review and compare the situation regarding relevant biodiversity and Earth observation data and information sources/providers in EU and ASEAN;
  • Examine linkages between regional/national ASEAN and EU efforts with international / global biodiversity information systems (in particular GBIF, GEO BON);
  • Assess and discuss national vs. regional level priorities and needs with regard to integrated biodiversity information in ASEAN and Europe;
  • Identify common challenges and needs towards further integration of different types, levels, and scopes of available data and information systems;
  • To address how S&T cooperation between Europe and ASEAN in the area of biodiversity and Earth observation could be further developed to better serve policy needs (especially in light of IPBES), and to contribute to common goals towards sustainable economic development

The ASEAN-EU Science, Technology and Innovation Days serve as a visible forum for cooperation activities between the two regions in the field of STI. The event addresses researchers from most thematic areas – with a focus on the societal challenges with relevance to both regions – as well policy makers, research conducting companies and innovation managers. It takes place annually, alternating between an ASEAN and a European country. High-level policy makers as well as many research projects and companies seize the chance to network, discuss, exchange and inform themselves.





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EU BON’s contribution to the ASEAN-EU STI Days

The ASEAN-EU STI Days took place between 21-23 January 2014 in Bangkok, Thailand.  During the event a special workshop "Integration of biodiversity data recording and information management systems for environmental sustainability: a call for EU-ASEAN collaboration" has been organized to stimulate EU-ASEAN collaboration in research on biodiversity informatics and integrative environmental information management.

A special EU BON dedicated presentation was given by Dr. Christoph Häuser at the workshop, which took place on 22 January. As a regional component of the Group of Earth Observation Biodiversity Observation Network (GEO BON), the EU BON project presented an innovative approach towards integration of biodiversity information systems from on-ground to remote sensing data, for addressing policy and information needs in a timely and customized manner.

Such an approach requires integration between social networks of science and policy, and technological networks of interoperating IT infrastructures. While focussing on Europe, EU BON is expected to connect and reach out globally, especially towards regions with many biodiversity hotspots such as SE-Asia.

The main objectives of the workshop were to:

  • Review and compare the situation regarding relevant biodiversity and Earth observation data and information sources/providers in EU and ASEAN;
  • Examine linkages between regional/national ASEAN and EU efforts with international / global biodiversity information systems (in particular GBIF, GEO BON);
  • Assess and discuss national vs. regional level priorities and needs with regard to integrated biodiversity information in ASEAN and Europe;
  • Identify common challenges and needs towards further integration of different types, levels, and scopes of available data and information systems;
  • To address how S&T cooperation between Europe and ASEAN in the area of biodiversity and Earth observation could be further developed to better serve policy needs (especially in light of IPBES), and to contribute to common goals towards sustainable economic development.

Five other presentations were given at the workshop on behalf of Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB), FishBase Information and Research Group, Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM), National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (BIOTEC), and Thailand Bioresource Research Center (TBRC). Presentations from the meeting are available to view below, or alternatively visit: http://www.stidays.net/?page_id=510

Presentations:

Christoph L. Häuser (EU BON) on "The EU BON approach for information integration" (introduction to the workshop)

Tim Hirsch (GBIF) on "The Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) – collaborating to promote data access for research and policy"

Sheila G. Vergara (ACB) on "Knowledge sharing for biodiversity conservation in the ASEAN Region"

Christine Casal (FishBase) on "Using FishBase and AquaMaps to predict IAS establishment, species ranges and risk assessment"

Leng Guan Saw (FRIM) on "Herbarium Data and Plant Conservation in Malaysia"

Lily Eurwilaichitr (TBRC) on "TBRC as an online information intermediary: towards the sustainability of biological resources"





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Have your say for the future of biodiversity protection: BESAFE invites you to take part in the project’s second stakeholder workshop

Care about biodiversity protection and science-policy dialogue? The second BESAFE stakeholder workshop might be just the thing for you.

The BESAFE project invites all interested policy makers, NGO representatives, decision makers and people, who argue ('lobby') for biodiversity protection to take part in its second stakeholder workshop, focusing the results from the project case studies and the best ways to make them useful through a stakeholder focused web-based tool.

The workshop will be held on 13 and 14 May 2004 at the Park Inn Brussels Midi, Brussels, Belgium. To register and participate is easy just follow this link, which will take you to an easy to follow and use registration page.

On the afternoon of 13 May BESAFE will present the results of the project’s case studies and then their use and implications will be discussed with stakeholders. The morning of 14 May is reserved for a learning workshop on the best ways to unlock and present project results. As committed stakeholder involvement is crucial to BESAFE’s success, we hope that you will be able to join us in Brussels!

In a nutshell, BESAFE investigates the effectiveness of different types of arguments in convincing policy makers to take action for biodiversity protection in a variety of circumstances. The project has two specific focus areas: the interactions of environmental protection policies between governance scales, and the contribution that ecosystem services BESAFE is committed to produce practically usable results and to make them available and easily accessible through a web-based tool. This is a goal we can clearly only achieve through input and feedback from stakeholders. BESAFE is therefore set up as an interactive project in which we inform and consult those on a regular basis.

Deadline for registration is the 1st of April 2014, but registration will be closed earlier when our limit of 25 stakeholders is reached. Due to this limited capacity, registration is subject to approval.

 





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Despatch from the field: New species discovery, description and data sharing in less than 30 days

Researchers and the public can now have immediate access to data underlying discovery of new species of life on Earth, under a new streamlined system linking taxonomic research with open data publication.

The partnership paves the way for unlocking and preserving a wealth of 'small data' backing up research conclusions, which often become lost within a few years of an article's publication in an academic journal.

In the first example of the new collaboration in action, the Biodiversity Data Journal carries a peer-reviewed description of a new species of spider discovered during a field course in Borneo just one month ago. At the same time, the data showing location of the spider's occurrence in nature are automatically harvested by the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), and richer data such as images and the species description are exported to the Encyclopedia of Life (EOL).

This contrasts with an average 'shelf life' of twenty-one years between field discovery of a new species and its formal description and naming, according to a recent study in Current Biology.

A group of scientists and students discovered the new species of spider during a field course in Borneo, supervised by Jeremy Miller and Menno Schilthuizen from the Naturalis Biodiversity Center, based in Leiden, the Netherlands. The species was described and submitted online from the field to the Biodiversity Data Journal through a satellite internet connection, along with the underlying data . The manuscript was peer-reviewed and published within two weeks of submission. On the day of publication, GBIF and EOL have harvested and included the data in their respective platforms.

The new workflow established between GBIF, EOL and Pensoft Publishers' Biodiversity Data Journal, with the support of the Swiss NGO Plazi, automatically exports treatment and occurrence data into a Darwin Core Archive, a standard format used by GBIF and other networks to share data from many different sources. This means GBIF can extract these data on the day of the article's publication, making them immediately available to science and the public through its portal and web services, further enriching the biodiversity data already freely accessible through the GBIF network. Similarly, the information and multimedia resources become accessible via EOL's species pages.

One of the main purposes of the partnership is to ensure that such data remain accessible for future use in research. A recent study published in Current Biology found that 80 % of scientific data are lost in less than 10 years following their creation.

Donald Hobern, GBIF's Executive Secretary, commented: "A great volume of extremely important information about the world's species is effectively inaccessible, scattered across thousands of small datasets carefully curated by taxonomic researchers. I find it very exciting that this new workflow will help preserve these 'small data' and make them immediately available for re-use through our networks."

"Re-use of data published on paper or in PDF format is a huge challenge in all branches of science", said Prof. Lyubomir Penev, managing director of Pensoft and founder of the Biodiversity Data Journal. "This problem has been tackled firstly by our partners from Plazi who created a workflow to extract data from legacy literature and submit it to GBIF. The workflow currently launched by GBIF, EOL and the Biodiversity Data Journal radically shortens the way from publication of data to their sharing and re-use and makes the whole process cost efficient", added Prof. Penev.

The elaboration of the workflow from BDJ and Plazi to GBIF through Darwin Core Archive was supported by the EU-funded project EU BON (Building the European Biodiversity Observation Network, grant No 308454). The basic concept has been initially discussed and outlined in the course of the pro-iBiosphere project (Coordination and policy development in preparation for a European Open Biodiversity Knowledge Management System, addressing Acquisition, Curation, Synthesis, Interoperability and Dissemination, grant No 312848).

Original source:

Miller J, Schilthuizen M, Burmester J, van der Graaf L, Merckx V, Jocqué M, Kessler P, Fayle T, Breeschoten T, Broeren R, Bouman R, Chua W, Feijen F, Fermont T, Groen K, Groen M, Kil N, de Laat H, Moerland M, Moncoquet C, Panjang E, Philip A, Roca-Eriksen R, Rooduijn B, van Santen M, Swakman V, Evans M, Evans L, Love K, Joscelyne S, Tober A, Wilson H, Ambu L, Goossens B (2014) Dispatch from the field: ecology of micro web-building spiders with description of a new species. Biodiversity Data Journal 2: e1076. DOI: 10.3897/BDJ.2.e1076





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UN's message on the International day for biological diversity

This year’s International Day for Biological Diversity falls in the International Year of Small Island Developing States and is being observed under the theme of "Island Diversity".
 
For some 600 million island-dwellers -- nearly one-tenth of the world’s population and representing one in three United Nations Member States -- biodiversity is integral to their subsistence, income, well-being and cultural identity.

Half the world’s marine resources lie in island waters. Biodiversity-based industries such as tourism and fisheries account for more than half the gross domestic product of small island developing states. Coral reefs alone provide an estimated $375 billion annual return in goods and services. Many island species on land and sea are found nowhere else on Earth. Legacies of a unique evolutionary heritage, they hold the promise of future discoveries -- from medicines and foods to biofuels.

Yet, reflecting a global pattern, island biodiversity is being lost at an unprecedented rate in the face of growing risks. Rising sea levels caused by climate change, ocean acidification, invasive alien species, overfishing, pollution and ill-considered development are taking a heavy toll. Many species face the prospect of extinction. People’s livelihoods and national economies are suffering.

The process to define a post-2015 development agenda and the Third Conference on Small Island Developing States in Samoa in September of this year both offer opportunities to attend to the unique needs of small island developing states and reverse the global decline in biodiversity. Because of their vulnerability, small island developing states are demonstrating a growing understanding of the links between healthy ecosystems and human well-being. Many have made local, national and regional commitments to conserve and sustainably use biodiversity, including through ratifying important instruments such as the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization. I call on all countries around the world to follow suit and ratify the Protocol without delay.

Around the world, many innovative partnerships are being forged to preserve marine and coastal resources, enhance resilience to climate change and develop sustainable tourism, fisheries and other industries. On this International Day, let us commit to adopting, adapting and scaling up best practices so we can protect fragile ecosystems for the benefit of all the islanders -- and indeed people everywhere -- who depend on them.

 

 





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Symposium (22-23 May): Remote Sensing for Conservation, London, UK

On 22nd and 23rd of May a symposium entitled "Remote sensing for conservation: uses, perspectives and challenges" took place at the Zoological Society of London (ZSL). The organisers successfully aimed at linking specialists from the two fields, remote sensing and conservation, more tightly. The two days provided a great overview of current activities of joint approaches and glimpses of what might be possible in the near future. In the following, a short subjective overview of the highlights is given with relevance to EU BON.
 
The first day started with the welcoming notes by the ZSL and the news that a new journal, which is especially created for the interplay between remote sensing and conservation, will be published soon. Woody Turner (NASA) gave a fabulous keynote with examples of current state of the art studies, such as using drones and off the shelf cameras to get cheap custom designed aerial images, the impressive combination of radar data with hyperspectral bands which lead to a 3D image of forest biodiversity and the emerging use of bioacoustics to monitor biodiversity. Nathalie Pettorelli (ZSL) gave an introduction into NDVI (Normalized Differenced Vegetation Index) and an overview of its usefulness for conservation. Martin Wegmann (University of Würzburg, DLR) showed the usefulness of a variety of fragmentation indices. Thomas Esch (DLR) showed the current status of the upcoming global urban footprint. Diane Davies (NASA) listed and compared a number of sources which monitored fires on a regional and global scale. Frank Muller-Karger (University of South Florida) elaborated on his enormous efforts to create global "seascapes" comparable to landscapes or ecoregions and his ultimate goal, a global marine biodiversity observation network (mbon). Temilola Fatoyinbo (NASA) explained the efforts towards a comprehensive global assessment of mangroves. Peter Reinartz (DLR) tested whether space born animal tracking is possible, and it will be.
 
On the second day Thomas Nauss (University of Marburg) started by delving into LiDAR (light detection and ranging; meaning the use of an active sensor measuring the reflectance of short laser pulses), derived not only from aerial flights but also from on-ground measurements. Kamran Safi (MPI Radolfzell) presented the awesome analysis of movement ecology and the incorporation in conservation. Graeme Buchanan (RSPB) presented nice examples of successful predictive ENMs (environmental niche models). Carlo Rondinini (University of Rome) tested the role of protected areas for large mammals in Africa. Andrew Skidmore (University of Twente) called for a need for more fine grained data and the inclusion of a more agricultural centred perspective because of a large percentage of the land surface is under agricultural use. Edward Mitchard (University of Edinburgh) showed exemplarily a study of REDD+ (revised programme of Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) in Indonesia. Gregoire Dubois (EC-JRC) presented the current state and future steps of DOPA (Digital Observatory for Protected Areas). Robert Rose (WCS) gave an insight into the joint platform for remote sensing and conservationists (CRSNet) and the top 10 conservation questions derived from a joint project. Finally Mike Gill (Environment Canada) illuminated the GEO BON mission and Christina Secades (WCMC) gave some details of her report on the usefulness of remote sensing for the Aichi targets.
Posters were exhibited as well. EU BON presented its remote sensing approaches and Palma Blonda (CNR-ISSIA) the BIO_SOS project. Two poster highlights were the announcement of a "temporal human impact index" by Jonas Geldmann (University of Copenhagen) and the "Biodiversity Indicators Dashboard", a facilitated interpretation of biodiversity indicators using the Tropical Andes, the African Great Lakes, and the Mekong Basin as examples (http://www.natureserve.org/conservation-tools/projects/biodiversity-indicators-dashboard).
 
Please lind attached below the a list of the projects and articles (with links) which were mentioned during the talks and which I found interesting (in no particular order or relevance!)

 





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Article Alert: Ten Ways Remote Sensing Can Contribute to Conservation

Abstract: In an effort to increase conservation effectiveness through the use of Earth observation technologies, a group of remote sensing scientists affiliated with government and academic institutions and conservation organizations identified 10 questions in conservation for which the potential to be answered would be greatly increased by use of remotely sensed data and analyses of those data. Our goals were to increase conservation practitioners’ use of remote sensing to support their work, increase collaboration between the conservation science and remote sensing communities, identify and develop new and innovative uses of remote sensing for advancing conservation science, provide guidance to space agencies on how future satellite missions can support conservation science, and generate support from the public and private sector in the use of remote sensing data to address the 10 conservation questions. We identified a broad initial list of questions on the basis of an email chain-referral survey. We then used a workshop-based iterative and collaborative approach to whittle the list down to these final questions (which represent 10 major themes in conservation): How can global Earth observation data be used to model species distributions and abundances? How can remote sensing improve the understanding of animal movements? How can remotely sensed ecosystem variables be used to understand, monitor, and predict ecosystem response and resilience to multiple stressors? How can remote sensing be used to monitor the effects of climate on ecosystems? How can near real-time ecosystem monitoring catalyze threat reduction, governance and regulation compliance, and resource management decisions? How can remote sensing inform configuration of protected area networks at spatial extents relevant to populations of target species and ecosystem services? How can remote sensing-derived products be used to value and monitor changes in ecosystem services? How can remote sensing be used to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of conservation efforts? How does the expansion and intensification of agriculture and aquaculture alter ecosystems and the services they provide? How can remote sensing be used to determine the degree to which ecosystems are being disturbed or degraded and the effects of these changes on species and ecosystem functions?

Original Source:

Rose R. A. et al. (2014) Ten Ways Remote Sensing Can Contribute to Conservation. Conservation Biology. Vol. 28, Issue 5. DOI: 10.1111/cobi.12397

 





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Climate Change & Biodiversity: What may happen to bony fishes in the North Sea?

Sustainable governance of our biological resources demands reliable scientific knowledge to be accessible and applicable to the needs of society. To achieve this, the EU BON project aims to develop a European Biodiversity Observation Network that facilitates open access to biodiversity data of relevance to environmental policy, and to develop innovative platforms for sharing and conveying this information through visually effective and policy-relevant media.

As part of this endeavour, EU BON partners FishBase Information and Research Group (FIN), the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin (MfN), and the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre collaborated to produce an infographic titled ‘Climate Change & Biodiversity: What may happen to bony fishes in the North Sea?’. This infographic explains the economic and ecological importance of bony fishes in the context of the North Sea. It also visualises potential changes to species diversity and composition over time, using habitat suitability and climate change predictions. These changes have been projected to 2100 based on modelled environmental conditions under the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s A2 emissions scenarios. The projections have direct policy relevance to Aichi Biodiversity Target 10 of the Convention on Biological Diversity, which seeks to understand trends in climatic impacts on community composition in ecosystems, and to thereby minimize these impacts.

The infographic was published on the 1st June 2015 on page 26 of The Parliament Magazine’s ‘Green Week’ edition (Issue 413), which is distributed to all members of European Parliament, the European Commission, Presidency Office, Party political groups, and various other EU institutions, with over 50,000 readers worldwide. 





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Citizen science might be voluntary but results are not always open: Recommendations to improve data openness

Being voluntary, citizen science work is often automatically assumed to also be openly available. Contrary to the expectations, however, a recent study of the datasets available from volunteers on the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) prove to be among the most restrictive in how they can be used.

There is a high demand for biodiversity observation data to inform conservation and environmental policy, and citizen scientists generate the vast majority of terrestrial biodiversity observations. The analysis on GBIF showed that citizen science datasets comprise 10% of datasets on GBIF, but actually account for the impressive 60% of all observations.

Invaluable as a resource for conservationists and biodiversity scientists, however, these resources unfortunately often come with restrictions for re-use. Although the vast majority of citizen science datasets did not include a license statement, as a whole, they ranked low on the openness of their data.

The assumption that voluntary data collection leads to data sharing is not only not reflecting the real situation, but also does not recognize the wishes and motivations of those who collect data, nor does it respects the crucial contributions of these data to long-term monitoring of biodiversity trends.

In a recent commentary paper, published in the Journal of Applied Ecology, EU BON partners suggest ways to improve data openness. According to the researchers citizen scientists should be recognised in ways that correspond with their motivations, in addition its is advisable that organisations that manage these data should make their data sharing policies open and explicit.

Original Research:

Groom, Q., Weatherdon, L. & Geijzendorffer, I. (2016) Is citizen science an open science in the case of biodiversity observations? Journal of Applied Ecology. DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.12767





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New RIO contribution: Summary report and strategy recommendations for EU citizen science gateway for biodiversity data

A new report has been added to the dedicated EU BON Outputs Collection in the innovative RIO journal. The paper reviews biodiversity related citizen science in Europe, specifically the data mobilization aspect and gives an overview of citizen science related activities in the project EU BON.

In addition, recommendations for a Pan-European citizen science gateway and data mobilization efforts will be given, with the aim of filling in existing biodiversity data gaps. Also the EU BON citizen science gateway is described, which is a part of the European Biodiversity Portal (http://biodiversity.eubon.eu) with citizen science related products. 

Citizen science is a vital element for EU BON with regards to biodiversity information sources that provide data for research and policy-making. CS data are used by many research institutes, public organisations and local data portals. CS data offer volumes of field data, which would otherwise not be possible to collect with the limited resources of research institutes and agencies. Thus one of the main targets for EU BON is to make CS data available through various efforts, for example through networking and by using new technologies for data mobilisation. Overall, one of the main goals of a common EU citizen science Gateway is to integrate CS data for European biodiversity research. EU BON also seeks to develop a strategy for achieving this goal and encourages educational aspects of citizen science through networking and the development of tools.

Original Source:

Runnel V, Wetzel F, Groom Q, Koch W, Pe’er I, Valland N, Panteri E, Kõljalg U (2016) Summary report and strategy recommendations for EU citizen science gateway for biodiversity data. Research Ideas and Outcomes 2: e11563. https://doi.org/10.3897/rio.2.e11563





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How to improve the science-policy interface: have your say in EKLIPSE's questionnaire

EKLIPSE is an EU-funded project that aims to develop a mechanism for supporting better informed decisions about our environment based on the best available knowledge. This short video (4 minute) explains the EKLIPSE process and you can find out more about our science-policy activities on the EKLIPSE website. The project now invites you to describe your views on how to improve the science-policy interface related to biodiversity and ecosystem services and potential ways in which you, or your background organization, would like to contribute to the EKLIPSE mechanism.

Have your say here!





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iMarine Invitation-only Workshop - 14th & 15th May 2013

iMarine e-Infrastructure for data driven decision making and research
iMarine  is organising an invitation-only workshop to discuss data driven decision making and research on 14th & 15th May 2013 at DG Connect, Avenue de Beaulieu 33 (BU33), Room 0/54, Brussels, Belgium.
The goal of iMarine is to facilitate policy makers in addressing the global challenges impacting on the marine ecosystem, the fisheries sector, local economies and communities and to demonstrate that science based policy making can benefit from a large and distributed e-Infrastructure for cross-disciplinary data collection, harmonization and analysis necessary for the management and conservation of marine living resources.





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Biodiversity Day at GEO-X "From observation to decision"

Tue, 14th Jan 2014, 9:00-16:45, GEO-X Plenary, CICG Room 2 (entrance floor), Geneva
 
The Swiss Government, with the help of the Swiss Biodiversity Forum, is organizing this Biodiversity Special Event in the frame of the 10th GEO Plenary meeting and Ministerial Summit in Geneva, to raise awareness of the importance of the biodiversity and ecosystem services activities in GEO (Global Earth Observation).
 
The programme offers talks on Biodiversity Observation Networks at all scales, on how to use spatial data for ecosystem assessments, and provides case studies on how to connect different user needs with biodiversity and ecosystem observations. Moreover, there will be a poster presentation of different biodiversity observation projects in Switzerland in the Swiss Pavillon, and a panel discussion on "How to improve biodiversity information and use it for decision making". (see the attached programme). 
 
The event is open to the public. Registration is free of charge. Lunch is only provided to registered participants. 
 
Please register until the 10th of January 2014 at:  http://www.biodiversity.ch/e/events/geo-x/

 





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ASEAN-EU STI Days with EU BON participation

he ASEAN-EU Science, Technology and Innovation Days serve as a visible forum for cooperation activities between the two regions in the field of STI. The event addresses researchers from most thematic areas – with a focus on the societal challenges with relevance to both regions – as well policy makers, research conducting companies and innovation managers. It takes place annually, alternating between an ASEAN and a European country. High-level policy makers as well as many research projects and companies seize the chance to network, discuss, exchange and inform themselves.

EU BON is also going to hold a workshop during the conference  called "Integration of biodiversity data recording and information management systems for environmental sustainability: a call for EU-ASEAN collaboration" (22nd January). The agenda of this workshop (incl. invited speakers) ican also be found here: http://www.stidays.net/?page_id=510





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Biodiversity today for tomorrow

The International BION conference 2014 "Biodiversity today for tomorrow" will take placefrom September 17th to 19th in Bonn, Germany.

It will be organized by the BION office and its network partners and the following subthemes have already been proposed:

1: Basic research in biodiversity
2: Monitoring, assessment, prediction – biodiversity in space and time
3: Biodiversity and Human Development
4: Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture / Bioeconomy
5: Ethical aspects of biodiversity
6: Societal (social, cultural, political) impact
7: Capacity Building
8: Interdisciplinary approaches

More information is available on the BION website: http://www.bion-bonn.org/de/de/bion-kongress-2014

Please, see conference programme for details and use the possibility for online registration.

 





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Horizon 2020 ICT-16 Big Data networking day

The aim of the event is to inform and guide prospective applicants preparing project proposals, to facilitate sharing of ideas and experiences. It will give participants the chance to network and to find partners for their projects.

ICT-16 is part of Horizon 2020's ICT work programme 2014-2015

The activities supported under this topic contribute to the Big Data challenge by addressing the fundamental research problems related to the scalability and responsiveness of analytics capabilities (such as privacy-aware machine learning, language understanding, data mining and visualization). Special focus is on industry-validated, user-defined challenges like predictions, and rigorous processes for monitoring and measurement.

The current outline of the draft agenda can be found HERE

Registration

The registration to the event is now open and is on the first-come-first-serve basis. Click HERE to register. The closing date is 8 January 2015.

After the registration you will have the possibility to upload a presentation for the ICT-16 networking and partner finding session which will take place in the afternoon (max 3 slides for 3 minutes presentation).

In parallel to the ICT-16 networking session a workshop on multilingual data value chains will be organised. Therefore, you should pay attention to which part of the event you enrol.

Please note that bilateral meetings with EC Project Officers to discuss proposal ideas (proposal clinics) will *not* be possible, in compliance with H2020 regulations.

More information available here.





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Asean-EU STI days 2016

The ASEAN-EU STI Days 2016 will be organised in Hanoi, Vietnam, from 10-12 May, 2016. This year’s edition of the event will focus on presenting academic/industry collaborations in and between ASEAN and the EU in the context of common key societal challenges for both regions.

The ASEAN-EU Science, Technology and Innovation Days are a forum style event, initiated by the European Commission’s 7th Framework Programme funded SEA-EU-NET II project. 

For more information and to register, please go to: http://www.stidays.net





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4th EU BON Roundtable: Pathways to sustainability for EU BONs network of collaborators and technical infrastructure

The 4th EU BON roundtable will take place on Thursday, 17 November 2016 at the premises of the Museum fuer Naturkunde in Berlin with the motto "Pathways to sustainability for EU BONs network of collaborators and technical infrastructure".  

One of the key questions will be how to achieve sustainability for the many different products of EU BON, such as tools, software, models and infrastructure after the project ends. It should be discussed how a European Biodiversity Observation Network and its essential components could be sustained after the project will end in May 2017, by which institutions or networks and how the products can be used in the best way for European policy and research needs.  

 








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Abortion rights advocates win in 7 states and clear way to overturn Missouri ban but lose in 3

Until Tuesday, abortion rights advocates had prevailed on all seven measures that have appeared on statewide ballots since the fall of Roe.

The post Abortion rights advocates win in 7 states and clear way to overturn Missouri ban but lose in 3 appeared first on Boston.com.












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The Met Gala was in full bloom with Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, Mindy Kaling among the standout stars

At her first Met Gala, Ayo Edebiri showed out in a youthful white look fading into a garden full of colorful flowers at the bottom by Loewe.

The post The Met Gala was in full bloom with Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, Mindy Kaling among the standout stars appeared first on Boston.com.




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A Somerville teen crocheted her prom dress in three days. Her video of the design process went viral.

Sarah Akinbuwa remembers the days when she was bullied over her love of crocheting, a hobby she picked up with her circle of schoolmates as a 12-year-old in Nigeria. Now living in Somerville and devoted to the craft, the 18-year-old is winning acclaim for one of her latest creations: a bright pink, floor-length prom dress […]

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“Phantom of the Opera,” Broadway’s longest running musical, marks 29th birthday

Today is the 29th anniversary of the first performance of “The Phantom of the Opera,” which is currently the longest-running musical on Broadway. Andrew Lloyd ... Read more

The post “Phantom of the Opera,” Broadway’s longest running musical, marks 29th birthday appeared first on CMUSE.




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“When I chose “Training Day,” I was on the hunt for something a little darker than some of my other recent projects”

From his early years taking classical piano lessons, to playing in a rock band during the 1990s, composer Jeff Cardoni has built up a diverse ... Read more

The post “When I chose “Training Day,” I was on the hunt for something a little darker than some of my other recent projects” appeared first on CMUSE.




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This North Shore home has ties to the Salem witch trials and American Revolution. Officials say it’s now ‘rotting’ away.

Local officials are racing against the clock to intervene and save Ingersoll’s Ordinary before more than three centuries of Danvers history is lost for good.

The post This North Shore home has ties to the Salem witch trials and American Revolution. Officials say it’s now ‘rotting’ away. appeared first on Boston.com.




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Optimising long-term monitoring projects for species distribution modelling: how atlas data may help